


Truffles, Noble Lord of the Sky

by megyal



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, Psychic Bond, Shapeshifting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-11
Updated: 2014-01-11
Packaged: 2018-01-08 07:44:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1130086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megyal/pseuds/megyal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fuck fairies; and Longbottom, too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Truffles, Noble Lord of the Sky

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fairywoman823](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=fairywoman823).



> Here's a better summary, behind a spoiler:  
>  _Fairies curse Draco so he's a winged snake during the day and a human during the night. Then, Longbottom makes it a whole lot worse._ _Fuck fairies; and Longbottom, too_.
> 
> Written for the Glompfest 2013 on Serpentinelion! Here's a [link to the prompt](http://serpentinelion.livejournal.com/389384.html?thread=5509640#t5509640). I couldn't get the mpreg prompt in. Additionally, I couldn't put in any porny bits, and the time-frame jumps around a lot. To the denizens and mods of the hd_writers chatzy rooms, thanks for allowing me to bounce ideas around and get inspiration (and that was from the ONE time I managed to wander in there). The Neville/Snape pairing is more implied than anything.
> 
> Betas: melusina and tigersilver, both at LJ and both awesome!

* * *

Harry stirred, letting out a half-sigh, half-groan as a slender form slid under his covers and cuddled against his side. He shifted and lifted the hand closest to the cool-bodied interloper, stroking down a flat head. Something fluttered against his stomach. 

"Truffles, it's too early," Harry mumbled. "Don't want to go out today."

The flat head bumped against his palm and then again, a little more forcibly. Harry opened his eyes and peered at the large snake, which had crawled into his bed. Its skin, usually a pearlescent shade under bright lights, was simply a mass of light-coloured scales as it snuggled into Harry's bedding. Truffles the snake sported a large pair of feathery wings, now folded up near its spade-shaped head. It regarded Harry with shining dark eyes.

"Fine, fine," Harry grumbled, as if Truffles had berated him. "I'm getting up; stop looking at me like that."

Truffles shifted out of the way obligingly as Harry threw off the covers and padded to the dorm bathroom. The winged snake didn't follow Harry, but it was waiting by the door as Harry emerged all kitted out for his morning exercise. 

Neville's bed-hangings hung open and he sat up abruptly as Harry crept past, trainers in hand.

"Harry?" he mumbled, his hair standing up on end. Harry smiled at him, and they glanced over as loud snores still blasted from behind Seamus' hangings. 

"Just going out for a run."

"Okay." Neville flopped back onto his pile of pillows. "Be careful."

"Truffles with you?" Ron pulled aside his own hangings, decorated with prancing stags, and gave Harry a few bleary blinks. His gaze drifted to the doorway, and he nodded at the waiting serpent. Truffles stared for a few long beats and then dipped its head quickly.

Ron released the heavy hangings, and his voice drifted out from behind the thick cloth.

"Good," he said, and a sleep-warm silence descended once more. Harry followed Truffles out into the sitting room shared by Hufflepuff and Gryffindor Seventh-years (both Upper and Lower), then perched on the edge of an armchair to pull on his trainers and tie the laces. Truffles had already slipped out into the corridor; how it got past the fussy portrait of Merlyne the Magnificent was a mystery. When Harry exited, Merlyne wrinkled his nose when his portrait swung shut.

"Early again," Merlyne snapped, more a sour observation than a question. 

"Yeah," Harry said, padding off towards the tapestry that hid this corridor from the main passage-way. "For my health and all."

Merlyne huffed. Harry ignored him, following closely after the flicker of Truffles' tail. The snake preferred to fly than creep along the ground, its wings moving rapidly to keep that long body aloft. They exited the castle and emerged into the grey, cool morning, heading towards the Quidditch pitch. Harry retrieved a broom from the sturdy little structure just off the pitch, but he didn't begin flying just yet. Under Truffles' expectant regard, Harry warmed up and stretched, ran around the field for a few laps and went through a series of push-ups, lunges and sit-ups. His hair was limp with sweat by the time he allowed himself on the broom, flying around the pitch. Truffles couldn't fly as high, but it seemed content to hover near the grass, watching Harry's quick manoeuvres. 

Harry grinned at the snake's solemn expression as he finally dismounted. He had taken up Truffles with him once, but the serpent had wrapped around his waist like a very large belt and hadn't seemed particularly interested in the speedy flight.

"Had breakfast already, Truffles?" Harry queried as he slung the school broom over his shoulder, heading towards the storage unit. Truffles nodded, and Harry smiled at it, fondly. 

Truffles didn't speak much, even though it understood human speech. Harry still had a good grasp of Parseltongue, similar to a person who had lived in another country, many years before. He still understood snake-speech, even though his own responses seemed clumsy to his own ears. But, with Truffles he didn't have many opportunities to practice, and he couldn't decide if he was disappointed or relieved. 

After Harry stowed the broom back in place, and made a cursory check of the other Quidditch supplies, they headed back to the castle.

"I've Double Potions at nine," Harry said as they climbed the wide stairs back into the castle. Truffles didn't like crowds, and preferred to find Harry after he finished eating in the Great Hall. "Want me to fetch you in the garden when I'm ready?"

Truffles tilted its head to one side, black gaze steady. Then, it shook its head very slowly and floated off down the corridor in the opposite direction from the Hall.

 _No_ , was the snake’s gently sibilant response. _I meet you in the class_.

Harry could hardly hold back a wide grin, charmed at the rare sound of Truffles' voice. There was a sweetness to its speech that made Harry want to listen all the time. However, most of his attempts to draw conversation from the snake were met with a flat glare.

He had a quick wash up in the showers, and managed to catch Hermione and Ron just as they finishing up.

"Hey, Hermione, I forgot to tell you," he started, but got distracted at the spicy warmth of the sausages on his palate. Hermione looked at him meaningfully, and rolled her eyes as he continued to chew.

"Harry," Hermione said in an impatient sort of groan. He grinned at her, food in his mouth, and she pulled a sour face at him. "Disgusting."

Harry managed not to laugh, and gulped his mouthful down. "Right, so there's no tense in Parseltongue, that's what I meant to tell you. Truffles said something to me just now, and it made me remember."

"No tense," Ron repeated slowly, even as Hermione's expression brightened and she dug around her satchel for a notebook and a quill. As she scribbled, Ron said, "What, like past tense and present tense?"

"Yeah, like--" Harry cut off, working his way through another mouthful. "Right, so today, Truffles said to me, 'I meet you' but that really meant 'I _will_ meet you.' And that just reminded me how other snakes speak. I've never heard things like _we had been_ or _she should have_ from them." Harry shrugged, and mopped up the remains of his eggs with a wedge of toast. "That's how I've heard them, anyway."

"Interesting," Hermione muttered as she made a few notations. Even though she continued with the other Upper Sevenths here at Hogwarts, she was simultaneously working on her undergrad treatise, which had something to do with magical non-human forms of communication. 

"Do you think that snakes have a different concept of time?" Hermione asked, her eyes bright as she looked up from her notes. Harry thought on that one for a moment.

"I'm not sure," he finally answered. "I'll have to ask Truffles."

Ron looked at Harry, who blinked back at him over a huge mug of tea. "Truffles isn't like any other snake," Ron pointed out, his gaze drifting out over Harry's shoulder. Harry twisted around and peered towards the Slytherin table, with its gaggle of silent lower years and decimated quantity of upper years. Draco Malfoy was not present, as was currently the norm for breakfast these days. He did appear for dinner, sweeping in with a flare of his dark robes. Chin held high, he would lead the column of the Slytherins to their table, eyeing them as they sat down almost as one, before taking his own seat. 

Harry hadn't expected Malfoy to be so patently protective of the lower year students, as he was still under probation. Unexpected, his care, but also very nice.

He turned back and shrugged a shoulder in agreement. 

"Okay, Potions," he said and wrinkled his nose at his friends as they made inarticulate noises of doom, groaning. "Oh, come on."

Their laughter followed him out. He kept his head down, avoiding the gazes of the other students, and quickly went down the steps to the dungeons. When Harry pushed open the heavy wooden door, he walked right into Snape's freezing lair. Snape, quite alive and mostly well, ended the charm which had been directing the chalk to write the ingredients for the delicate _Clarity of Mind_ Potion on the board.

When he turned around, Harry called out, "Sir," in simple greeting. While Snape's expression didn't alter, the skin around the corners of his eyes and around his thin mouth didn't seem that tightly drawn. Harry was early for the class he and his mates shared with Ravenclaw, but still he was beaten by Neville, who set up his cauldrons and ingredients on the workstation closest to the exit and furthest from the professor's desk. Neville had the air of one preparing for battle, his movements sharp yet exceedingly careful. Directly across the pathway, Truffles lounged on the bench Harry preferred. The big snake rose up and rocked its head from side to side in greeting, drawing a big smile from Harry.

"Potter," Snape greeted in his raspy voice, and paused pointedly when something in Neville's corner clattered loudly to the stone floor. To Snape's credit, he did not turn around and lambast Neville.

To Neville's credit, his tone was cool and calm when he murmured, "Sorry about that, sir."

Snape simply nodded and turned back to the board, frowning at the list and method written. Harry was sure it was as perfect as it could get, and pushed his glasses up his nose, reading it through for himself. The other students began to trickle in, but due to transfers and deaths, the numbers wouldn't be even for everyone to have a partner.

That was fine by Harry. He had Truffles. 

"Okay, so we'll need four wasp stingers, a cubit length of woven nettle, a small handful of rose-hips-" Harry broke off and glanced down at his hand. "I guess my hand is small enough…and a packet of heated dragons' breath." He looked at Truffles, and the snake stared back at him with nary a blink. Harry bent closer and whispered, " _I repeat?_ " in badly accented but serviceable Parseltongue.

Truffles shook its head, a quick blur. It slid to the end of his bench and its wings began their low burring motion, carrying the snake to the back of the class so that it could go into the ingredients' cupboard and fetch out each item from the list. Truffles carried them out one by one, either by the handle of the container, or by its fangs gripping the very tops of the corks, or, in a few cases, by worn straps around the necks of the bottles. It couldn't very well measure out each ingredient, but Truffles never failed in bringing out the proper receptacles. Harry retrieved the quantities required, and handed them over to other groups if they needed any; if not, Truffles carted them back to the cupboard. 

Harry credited his newly honed attention span in Potions to Truffles. He developed the habit of reading the instructions aloud, the snake listening very carefully. Then, as he carried out the creation of a potion, Truffles' endless gaze would be fixed on his every move, correcting him with a sharp nip if Harry diced instead of chopped or stirred too slowly. Nearly every potion he attempted came out passably well; a few were met with an arch of Snape's brows and a nearly inaudible, "Well done."

Today was no exception. The _Clarity of Mind_ Potion was to be an even shade of indigo, with large, singular bubbles popping at the surface near the end of brewing. Harry peered at the thick liquid in the bottom of his cauldron and nodded slowly at the shade. Truffles inspected it as well, and nodded too, sharp flat head bobbing.

Snape walked by and nodded without approaching Harry's work-station. He strolled over to Neville, who was bending slightly at the waist to peer at his results. Snape stood next to Neville and peered into the black-bellied pot, lips pursed. Neville seemed to be holding himself rather awkwardly.

"The incantation?" Snape offered in his smoky voice. Harry watched as Neville swallowed heavily, but nodded, reaching for his wand.

"Truffles, you didn't remind me of the incantation," Harry accused playfully, and got a narrow-eyed look for his trouble. He lifted his own wand, mentally rehearsing the movement and pronunciation. At his bench, Neville snapped out the spell and flicked his wand with authority.

Snape released a wordless sound of surprise, and someone else yelled as a column of light erupted out of Neville's cauldron. Without skipping a beat, Neville threw up a containment charm, grimacing hideously. Harry put out one hand instinctively, trying to shield his eyes from the sudden harsh glare. 

"Wrong incantation!" Snape bellowed, shoring up Neville's impressive spell work with grand movements of his own wand.

"I know, sir!" Neville yelled back. "Sorry, sir!"

Harry stumbled to the door and shoved it open, motioning to the other students. Quite used to emergencies and turmoil, the rest of the class exited with alacrity, and a minimum of screeching.

"I'll fetch Pomfrey and those other medics," one of the last ones told Harry before they fled, and Harry went back in to help contain Neville's potion. Truffles pounced on him, pushing him back against the wall just as the containment field failed in a spectacular shower of red sparks, rather like fireworks. In the moment before the field of light washed over him, Harry saw Neville fling himself at Snape, bringing that tall, lanky frame to the ground in an attempt to protect him.

Harry closed his eyes and clutched Truffles close. In a few moments, he hazarded opening his eyes, to a bare slit. The room was very dark. Neville and Snape were shadowy smudges against the inky gloom, but they were moving, shifting to sit up. Harry opened his mouth to call out to them, but a voice spoke up drily in his head.

 _Splendid,_ this voice intoned. _Longbottom strikes again._

This was not any of the mental voices with which Harry was well acquainted. It did not have that bilge-oily sensation which had marked Voldemort's presence. There wasn't even that slight pinch which came with Legilimency. There was just this voice, and a myriad of other voices…or rather, a _main_ voice, grumbling over Longbottom's incompetence; while minor voices, sounding just like the main one, carried on a mundane chorus such as wondering what to eat for dinner, and how dark it was right now, and why it was all the scales right under that left wing had all gone horribly itchy.

Harry closed his mouth very slowly. A flare of light bloomed at the tip of Neville's wand. In an absent-minded manner Harry noted that Snape and Neville regarded each other with matching expressions of dawning horror. Truffles had shifted to drape its top half across Harry's shoulders and so he simply reached up, hoping this wing was that left itchy one, and scratched the patch of scales under it very carefully.

The voice echoing in his head gained a pleased timbre, and Harry felt most of that fractured attention shift to the sensation of his fingers. _Ahhh, brilliant. Lovely, lovely Potter, right there's the spot. Just a bit higher…_

Harry thought aloud, and as clearly as he could: _Truffles? Is that you?_

The serpent lunged away from Harry so violently that he stumbled forward a few steps from the force of the movement. Truffles hovered out of reach, eyes gleaming at Harry in the wandlight. Its expression was impassive, but Harry caught the tumbling panic of its thoughts.

_He can hear me Potter can hear me think oh fuck HE CAN HEAR ME RIGHT NOW--_

_It's okay, Truffles_ , Harry thought as soothingly as possible, hoping that his own worry was sufficiently muted. He hadn't realised how much he had going on in his head, all this time. Even now, as he tried to project calm to Truffles, there were snippets of a song he'd heard on the wireless last night, and random meanderings of thought.

 _Hey, Truffles,_ he tried again, for the snake seemed to be holding itself rigidly. Harry reached out to touch it, to stroke its head, but Truffles ducked away and bolted for the door. It flew so fast that its body was nearly parallel to the floor. It slipped out before Harry could think or speak.

Stunned, he turned to look at Snape and Neville, as if they had the answer to this particular predicament. Apparently, they did, going by their individual expressions as they struggled up. Neville managed to stand first, and held out a hand to Snape. The professor stared at that hand as if it would strike him, and even in the dim light Harry could see the tremble in Neville's fingers. Harry figured that Snape would refuse the wordless offer of assistance, and felt his eyes widen when Snape gripped Neville's hand very firmly and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.

They stood there for a short moment, and then Snape glanced down at how Neville's big fingers wrapped around his. Neville snatched his hand away and stood back; to Harry, his cheeks seemed very red.

"I must have done up the spell for a mental bond," Neville stated, his shoulders square even though his expression was a study in misery, "instead of the one for mental clarity." He kept his gaze fixed somewhere to the left of Harry's shoulder, turned slightly away from Snape. "I'm so sorry."

Snape took a few shallow breaths, and turned away from Neville. "The spells are similar, phonetically. The potion itself is a transferring base which applies for most mental spells," he offered, tightly. "I suggest that we present ourselves to Pomfrey and her team-- _yes_ , Longbottom, I can hear their arrival as well; no need to think at me quite so _loudly_."

Neville's face took on a stony cast. Harry felt a stab of pity for him, bracing himself as Madame Pomfrey stomped her way in, accompanied by the two medics who had been specially seconded from St. Mungo's due to the increased quantity of students and the chance of curses left behind by Death Eaters.

They descended on Harry, Snape and Neville like riotous harpies. Harry endured their diagnostic procedures with ill grace. 

He had a winged snake to find, after all.

+

Harry hurried around the northern edge of the castle, hoping to sneak in through a secret passage and avoid the small clutch of fans haunting the corridors near his dorm. He had a study session with Hermione in a few moments, and a Quidditch session with a few firsties later in the evening. His schedule was packed nearly every day and Harry liked that. It kept his mind occupied, mostly.

He paused, clutching his bulky satchel against his side as he tilted his head, listening to the quiet evening air. The noise he'd heard a few moments ago happened again: a shout so shrill that it seemed to slice through the shadows. Harry plunged through the waist-high hedges which grew around the greenhouses. He rounded one of those barrel-roofed structures, smelling of earth and green things, and drew up short.

Underneath a tall lamp beside the closed door of one of the greenhouses, a group of lower-year students stood in a circle of flickering, yellow light. There were actually two groups: a large girl standing with her arms spread wide, her green and silver tie pulled askew, as her dark hair stood in a wavy halo around her head. The other students, five or six Gryffindors, faced her with their wands drawn. Their laughter clawed like rusty nails across Harry's hearing. They all stood their backs to Harry, and did not seem to sense him as he stepped forward. 

"Move aside, Alex," the leader of the jeering pack called out, lifting her wand. "Let's see that snake of yours!"

Alex shook her head so quickly, the thick strands of her hair whipped at her round cheeks. Harry could see the whites of Alex's eyes as she stared at the Gryffindors. Her arms shook as she held them up, fingers trembling. There was no sign of her wand.

Something shifted at Alex's feet. It looked like a length of thick hose. Harry stared as it shifted, one end drifting up behind Alex. It was a snake, but not like any one Harry had ever seen, and he was kind of an expert on large, weird snakes. This one had a pair of wide wings a few inches down from its broad, flat head. Even in the waning light, its scales had the quality of polished pearls. 

The snake regarded the Gryffindors with slitted eyes, reared upwards. Its wings fluttered like that of a hummingbird, and its head hovered at the same height of the beleaguered Alex.

"Go away, Kamla. Don't you have smaller kids to bully?" Alex ground out, baring her teeth. "Leave Truffles alone."

The younger Gryffindors let out peals of mocking laughter. The snake's head dipped, and it closed its eyes for a few long beats. 

"Truffles!" Kamla screeched, still laughing hard enough so that her wand-arm shook. "Move," she ordered as she wiped tears from her eyes. "We just want to look at it."

"You were throwing rocks at it with _Leviosa._ " Alex shifted her stance, shaking her head against Kamla's muffled claims of ' _that was just practice!'_ She hunched her broad shoulders, like a bull about to charge. "Leave us alone."

" _Don't_ move, then." Kamla twirled her wrist with a neat fluidity. Harry recognised that mannerism as particular to Purebloods, or at least someone who had been born into a magical household. The other Gryffindors lifted their wands, too, following their apparent leader. "We've got enough firepower for the both of you."

"Oi," Harry called out, conversationally, "I see one spell go off, it's twenty points from each of you."

The Gryffindors whirled around at the sound of his voice. Startled, one of them let off a yellow-tinged spell that shot towards Harry's head. He ducked to the left, and kept his expression neutral as he straightened. 

"Sorry!" the guilty party stuttered, and whoever they were actually let their wand go, the thin wooden stick dropping onto the paved walkway.

Harry shook his head and looked towards the snake and Alex, who had lowered her arms. The snake now hovered in front of her, gazing at Harry with those expressionless eyes.

"Get back to your dorm," Harry said and frowned as Kamla began to object, very loudly.

"It's just a couple of snakes!" she yelled, and her friends glanced at each other uncertainly. Kamla flung one skinny arm in Alex's general direction. "Just like there were in the War, the ones that lost to us!"

Harry felt his whole frame go very still. "I don't know which War _you_ fought in," he said, coldly, and Kamla took a step back. Her mouth tightened to a thin line. "But if you must know, a _couple of snakes_ helped in the one _I'm_ aware of. Wouldn't have got by without them."

Kamla pouted. "But _these_ are just--"

His patience frayed, Harry snapped, "Detention with Professor Snape, for being rotten bullies. You'll do well spending time with the snakiest of them all, I wager, instead of wasting time hassling your school-mates."

As her friends dragged her away, Kamla cried, "But, you're not even a prefect!"

Harry huffed at them as they ran off. He knew their faces, and made a mental note to talk to Gin or Michael. He turned towards Alex, who had been trying to edge away around the corner of the greenhouse. The winged snake, Truffles, floated behind her.

"Hey, wait," Harry called out and they both froze as if Harry had threatened them with an Unforgivable. "Are you okay? Is your snake hurt?"

Alex turned on one heel very slowly. She glanced at Truffles and raised her dark eyebrows. The snake just stared back at her.

"You--" Harry cleared his throat, trying to remember the feel of Parseltongue. _You hurt?_ he tried and grimaced as the snake flinched, its wings beating the air. After a breathless pause of wondering how he'd offended the snake, it shook its head.

"It's not my snake, not really," Alex said as Harry approached with careful steps. "It just...watches out for us."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Us?" 

Close enough now, Harry reached out a hand and stroked under the snake's chin. It didn't show any sign of pleasure, but neither did it move away. Even better, it didn't bite.

"Us Slytherins," Alex said, and when Harry looked at her, she had a speculative expression on her face. "Hey, would you like to keep it? Truffles, that is."

" _What_?" Harry pulled his hand away from Truffles' dry skin. Truffles hissed softly, and Harry didn't have to mentally translate the emphatic _no_. 

"Truffles is _really_ self-sufficient," Alex said, with the bright air of a sales clerk. "It's around in the day and off on its own business at night. It might be best for us this way." Her tone ended on a very heavy key, and Harry realised that this last was directed at the winged serpent. 

"Okay," Harry said a little absently, because he had a sudden image of this snake floating around the Slytherins and drawing attention they didn't need. "But it won't be _my_ snake. Truffles is its own snake, right?"

He smiled, and Alex looked at him as if she had done a few long Arithmantic equations in her head and got a nicely balanced result. Truffles rested its head on her left shoulder and fixed Harry with what seemed to be a contemplative stare. 

At last, it turned and slid around the near corner of the greenhouse, departing with a flicker of its tail. Harry started after it, but Alex spoke up, her unconcerned tone stopping him in his tracks.

"Don't worry. It'll be back in the morning." She offered him a small smile. "Thanks, Potter."

With that, Alex slipped away with the same quiet speed as the snake.

+

Harry searched all over the castle for Truffles but it was obvious that the snake didn't want to be found. It probably had some little hide-away somewhere, but Harry was desperate to talk to it. Or rather, to _think_ at it, as it were.

Disappointed after a tiring trek up and down the staircases, he made his way back to the dorm-rooms. He turned a corner and then ducked back, for a small herd of lower years were camped out near the tapestry which covered the corridor's entrance. It had been charmed to keep out all but the Seventh-year Gryffindor and Hufflepuffs, both Upper and Lower, but that didn't prevent the fans from trying. 

The tapestry parted and Ginny stepped out, frowning at the gathering. 

"Go on, back to your rooms. It's almost curfew," she said, and braced her fists on her hips when the younger students ducked their heads, shuffled their feet and showed no sign of moving. Ginny rolled her eyes, but the action seemed more affectionate than aggravated. "Go on."

The crowd slowly broke up, knots of students drifting back to various houses. Harry doubled back to another alcove, waiting until the count of sixty, and then hurried back to the tapestry. Ginny, who hadn't moved from her post, wrinkled her nose as he trotted up to her.

"Thanks," he said, and she nodded, one side of her smile quirking up more than the other.

"Had a feeling you'd be around soon." She held up the tapestry for him and he slipped into the corridor, feeling the comforting magic of the castle fold around him in its protective embrace. Merlyne was alert and huffy as usual, but he swung open his portal with minimal fuss after they provided the password. Ginny held back a little before they stepped in, and Harry gave her a curious glance.

"Maybe you'll want to have a quick chat with Nev, for a moment," she said, her tone very even and firm. Harry searched her solemn expression and then nodded slowly. She stepped inside ahead of him, murmuring greetings to the small groups of students sitting about in the common roon. Harry looked around and then located Neville sitting in a deep window alcove, curled into the small shadowed space in defiance of his long limbs. Neville had his legs drawn up, arms wrapped around them. Hermione shared the alcove, tilting her head as they spoke.

Harry approached them, leaning against Hermione's side as soon as he was close enough. Neville smiled in greeting, but it did not seem to reach his eyes.

"Hi," Hermione said and pressed a quick kiss to Harry's cheek. She'd gotten a lot more expressive recently, hugs and friendly cuddles, and Harry liked it. That was probably why he liked Truffles so much; as expressionless as the serpent appeared, it liked to cuddle against Harry's side whenever he had a free, solitary moment. Its weight was cool and solid against his back, or his thigh, soaking up Harry's warmth unapologetically. It was nice to sit down and not be expected to do something.

Harry slid his arm across Hermione's shoulder and squeezed her a little. She withstood it with a quiet laugh, and then extricated herself from his hold.

"I'm going upstairs," she said, but she glanced meaningfully at Neville, who stared out the window at the dark shapes of the Forest as if they held some precious secret. Harry nodded, and sat in her place, listening with half an ear as she mocked Ron and Seamus about their never-ending game of chess. Harry stared at the side of Neville's face: the clenching of his jaw, the light stubble along his skin. Neville glanced at him, and for a brief moment, Harry saw the child he'd once been: painfully insecure and bewildered at most things. Then Neville's expression smoothed out into the competent alertness he'd developed during the War, and he offered Harry a quick twitch of his eyebrows.

"Nev?" Harry ventured quietly and Neville's gaze remained steady on his face. "Is...everything all right?"

"I'm just really sorry." Neville closed his eyes briefly and then opened them with a wider smile, one that did nothing to ease the small sliver of disquiet in Harry's chest. "That whole mental-bond thing, I was so _stupid_ and _clumsy_. And here I thought I was past all that--"

"It's okay," Harry hastened to reassure him. "It's fine. The medics said it would wear off in a few days, didn't they? And Professor Snape agreed."

Neville nodded, picking at his denims as a slight flush rose up his jaw and cheeks. "Yes, he did," he said, slowly, picking his way through each word as if it was a part of a recipe for a dangerous potion. "I'm glad."

Harry frowned at him, and leaned forward a bit. "Are you, really?"

"Merlin, _no_ ," Neville breathed out and he blinked rapidly. Harry realised, with no little surprise that Neville was on the verge of crying. He looked away from Harry, and wiped the back of his hand across his cheek, even though it was dry. Harry glanced around as furtively as he dared, but no-one seemed to be paying attention to Neville's tightly controlled distress.

"I hate this," Neville grumbled as he stared out the window, and let out a watery laugh. "I'm still a kid, aren't I?"

"We're all kids, kind of," Harry offered, softly. Neville laughed again, a bit steadier this time. 

"When you weren't here, for that final year," Neville murmured, "I thought I'd hate Snape forever, for what he'd done...for how he changed everything." He swallowed and paused for a long moment. Harry waited, staring at the side of Neville's face.

Neville tilted his head a little before he spoke: "You weren't in school for that final year, so you wouldn't have known…Right, whenever we'd get detentions, the Carrows and all that lot would send us to the Headmaster." He wrinkled his nose in what appeared to be wry amusement. "You know? Snape developed these charms that made you look as if you'd gotten whipped? Very detailed work, all that torn-up skin. Your back looked as if you'd been through _agony_. And it'd look as if it was healing, too."

Harry blinked, slowly. "What? Why would he make up a charm like that?" At Neville's pointed look, Harry thought a bit more. "…oh. Right."

Neville's expression lightened as he went on "And...yeah, there's another spell he did up. Sounded like someone was getting the crap beaten out of them in his office. So we'd be sitting around playing chess--he's terribly good at that, too--while the screaming went on over our heads." Neville nodded once, smiling broadly. His gaze was distant, his smile full. 

Harry said, "Neville, mate. Are you...do you actually _want_ \--"

"Of course not," Neville cut in very firmly, almost biting off the tips of his words. His eyes appeared to glitter at Harry and his chin tilted up; he looked like a proper Pureblood in that very moment. Then that hard, proud expression faded and he offered his usual lopsided grin. "That sounded really believable when I said it like that, didn't it?"

"Neville..." Harry breathed out, sympathy layering his exhale. 

Neville shook his head and pulled back into himself, wrapping his arms around his legs as well.

"Thought it was just a stupid crush. I mean, _me_ and _Snape_." Neville laughed. When he spoke again, his voice was pitched so low that Harry leaned forward in order to hear him better. "That's just so unthinkable, but then, you know, you spend some time with him, and you realize that he's bloody _awful_ and he has the most horribly funny way of saying things, but he's absolutely brilliant and he's kind when it serves him, and he's everyone's hero now and just...."

Harry waited for a few beats, expecting the rush of words to start up again. It became apparent that Neville had simply petered out and appeared to have no intention of continuing. He said, "But Nev, you're a hero, too."

Neville shrugged off this observation easily; the corners of his mouth were turned down. "I suppose. You know, even if I managed to convince him that this is how I really feel, it's hard to get past that great thing he has for you and your mum."

"Come on now." Harry cleared his throat and refrained from looking around in a guilty fashion, to see if anyone had overheard that. "I mean, I know he loved her, but I don't see how--"

"Saw it in his mind for myself." Neville had the air of a Healer with impeccable bed-side manners giving bad news to a patient. "Your mum, mostly, yeah. But you occupied a large part of his attention for the longest while. Not love, but stubborn dedication, I suppose. " Neville lifted one shoulder in a tired shrug. "I suppose it's a hard habit to break, keeping watch over someone constantly, like he did for you."

"I--"

"Bit tough to compete with, that." Neville seemed to be addressing his kneecaps now. "Really."

Harry opened his mouth to say something and then closed it. He had no idea what to say, but then his mouth went ahead without permission from his brain. "Nev? Did you see anything about _you_ , though? During the first few minutes of this mind-bond?"

"What? Oh. Er…" Neville wrinkled his nose, thinking. "Exasperation, mostly, but that's par for the course," he finally answered. "Quite a bit of surprise, actually. It was a little funny, now that I think about it."

"How?" Harry pressed. 

Neville sighed. "He was impressed when I helped contain the potions accident. Snape, that is."

"Hah!" Harry grinned in triumph. "Well then, there you go!" he said, nodding as if Neville's impressive problem had been solved in that moment. He stood up from the window-seat and stretched, groaning at the muting cracking in his back. "Maybe you should give it a shot. Snape's a hard one to impress, believe me."

"He's still our professor, Harry," Neville pointed out, but he began to un-knot himself, stretching out his legs. "He's years older than me…" He paused, wrinkling his nose as he considered. "But …I like older people. I grew up with Gran, and if I can survive _her_ , Snape's easy as anything. But--"

"You're of an age," Harry pointed out, adopting his Hermione-voice as he placed one hand on his hip. "And you won't be his student in a few months. You killed the snake that nearly did him in, so...he owes you one. You can use that to coax him. Slytherins _like_ coaxing, even a bit of bribery. Give it a shot, yeah?"

"Harry!" Neville burst out, his expression warm and open again as he chuckled. "You're ridiculous." His countenance seemed to turn inwards, softly considering. "You…might be right. I _could_ give it a shot."

Harry leaned forward and whispered, "Maybe you can get yourself a bit of _detention,_ eh?"

" _Harry_!" Neville cried out again, obviously aiming for scandalized; the effect was spoiled by the way he held his side and laughed. Harry nodded, looking around with no little self-satisfaction. He caught Ginny's eye, and grinned as she offered a furtive thumbs-up.

+

**2**

For Truffles the serpent, there are only a few things in this world that are worth thinking about. The younger snakes, for snakes they are even though they walk on two legs, for one; two? Making sure that food is had on a regular basis. And three: Harry Potter.

Harry is _Harry_. Harry _is_ important, and Truffles understands this very well. Harry is important to the other humans, of course, but Truffles doesn't care about most humans.

It cares for Harry. Therefore, it keeps fast to a daily habit of sliding out of the stony nest now shared by the older adolescents, pausing by that space used by the younger snakes. Sometimes Alex is curled up on one of the grand sitting-things, nodding over a fantastically large book. A hard-working snake, that one, a bit too expressive at times for Truffles' tastes, but it likes her very much. If she is dozing, Truffles hisses at her so that she will snap awake. After she jumps up and fumbles with her books and parchment, shooting dark looks at the snake, Truffles simply bobs its head in acknowledgement and continues on its journey to locate Harry. 

It is not a long journey, nor a difficult one. There are a lot of hidden pathways and tiny tunnels forged by rodents, and Truffles navigates them with ease. At that time of the day, it finds Harry curled up in bed, and carefully slinks in beside him, soaking up warmth and revelling in the heavy weight of Harry's magic. When Harry is caught up in some intense feeling--pure happiness, or a sudden depression--his magic shimmers in banners of bright colours over his skin. It is beautiful to see and, at times, a bit terrifying. Human vision is woefully limited, Truffles understands, and the snake feels a cool sort of pity that they may never view Harry in this way. They perhaps understand his potential, but they do not _see_ it.

Actually, Truffles feels more smug than pity.

Humans fear Harry, though, the way they fear Truffles. Truffles can smell their fear...the ones which aren't from Harry's nest, that is. 

There is that time, when Harry is sitting in the warm, private place (a _garden_ , in Harry's tongue, _ssshafras_ in snake, except that there are high walls surrounding the small, square area, so that is _ssshafras-ssosies_ ), and Truffles is curled in his lap, dozy and content. Truffles does not fit in Harry's lap, so most of its long body is draped around Harry on the wide bench. The Harry-friend named Hermione strolls in, and gazes at Harry for a long moment. Harry glances up at her and greets her with warmth. She sits beside him, and they talk of human foolishness; Truffles is almost fully asleep when he feels a change in Harry's magic and in his tone.

"Is _that_ what they think?" Harry asks, his voice low and his words sharp; Truffles shifts, hisses softly.

 _What is wrong_? Truffles inquires.

 _Nothing_ , Harry replies, but Truffles can taste the lie. It lifts its head a little, staring at Harry, but Harry looks away and his face is shadowed.

"It's not hard for them to make the jump to that," Hermione says. She sounds like a concrete path built over a place where soft, fragrant grass once grew. "I mean, a powerful wizard with an unusually large snake? Do you blame them?"

Harry takes a few breaths, as if he can't catch his breath. "I suppose not." 

Truffles hitches some of its coils closer around Harry's back. It turns its head, eyes narrowed to glare at this Hermione-friend.

 _Leave_ , Truffles says. _Or I bite you_.

 _Don't say things like that_! Harry hisses and Truffles ducks its head, sulking. After a long pause, Hermione-friend stands up.

"I'll leave now," she announces, as if she understands Truffles the way Harry does. She is annoying, but she keeps her word and Truffles respects this trait. A few moments after she leaves, one of Harry's hands strokes down Truffles' back, leaving a sun-bright trail along its scales.

"Truffles," Harry begins, hesitantly. "Do you think I'm some kind of dark wizard?"

Truffles thinks for so long that Harry begins to repeat his question in lumbering snake-speak. It shakes its head, cutting Harry off in mid-query. The answer to that question is easy; Truffles does not understand why Harry feels he had to ask it in the first place.

 _No_ , Truffles says. It knows what dark wizards feel like. Harry is nothing of the sort.

"No?" Harry smiles widely and tickles under its chin. Harry's magic floats around his face in a film of gauzy cream, and his eyes are bright behind that veil. "Are you sure?"

 _I am sure_.

+

The copse of trees behind the Manor were over-run by fairies. These weren't the darling flower types, who lovingly gave their magic so that the roses and the bog asphodel could flourish; nor were they the sleepy grass ones that spent all day rolled up in sweet-smelling piles next to the delicate jasmine. Wood fairies gnawed the bark of Narcissa's precious miniature yews and the specially bred gold-leaved sycamore. Generally, wood fairies were snide, facetious creatures with powerful magic and not one civil word in their heads.

"Draco, come. We must throw the repellent at them, before the sun sets," Narcissa huffed as she rushed down the slope towards the trees, the first row of which was of cherry. Draco followed at a more sedate pace. Since the Trials, his mother seemed to be moving faster and faster; always hurrying somewhere, or running through the corridors, never satisfied. Now, her hair escaped in wisps from her normally neat coiffure and formed a halo around her face. She gripped handfuls of her skirts and almost skipped along, her expression an odd mixture of grimness and celebratory hunting.

At the bottom of the slope she stopped and whirled, frowning at him. The end-of-summer sun cast a pinkish light on the undersides of the clouds, and brushed Narcissa's hair with bronze as the long rays pressed through the leaves.

"Quickly, Draco!" she called and he pressed his lips together, continuing his slow approach. He had a large metal urn in his hands. Inside the urn, the repellent he had mixed a few moments before sloshed around, a thick brown sludge. His mother's gaze burned impatiently as he finally got close to her and knelt down, placing it on the ground. Two long sticks rose up out of the mouth of the urn, and he plucked them out, handing one over to Narcissa. 

The sticks were bent into a circular shape at their ends, and a translucent layer of the repellent was caught within that ring. Narcissa turned towards her trees, pursed her lips and blew. A large bubble formed, separated from the eye of the stick, and floated off towards the trees in a careless fashion.

"Well done," she murmured to herself as the bubble crashed into the side of one tree, the potion splattering all over the bark. She blew six bubbles before Draco got through two, and the wood-fairies were fairly hopping in rage. They swarmed out of the knots and behind the leaves, their rough little faces contorted in rage.

"Stop that!" one of them shrieked, and flapped its green veined wings in agitation. "That _burns_ , you berks!"

"Let my trees be, then," Narcissa said, and blew two more. "Go away."

"These are _our_ trees!" The first wood-fairy turned to a slightly larger one beside them. "Tell them, Lulu!"

"It's true!" Lulu cried out in a piercing little voice. "We helped these trees survive all that muddy magic you allowed here; they're _ours_!"

"The dark magic is gone now, so there's no need for you to be here," Draco told them. He could hear how tired his voice seemed, how very ancient. He just felt flat all the time, unresponsive and cold. The fairies made the most horrible faces and obscene gestures, disgusting little wankers. 

"You're hurting the trees now, though," Narcissa said after a few more bubbles and poetically enraged profanity on the part of the wood-fairies. "You're horrid little things; go away."

"You're cowards." Lulu's spiky voice was full of contempt, brown eyes narrowed to slits. "You couldn't beat a Dark Lord and you can't beat us! Nasty snakes! Bah!"

It raised its gnarled hand and clicked its fingers; a ball of dark light hummed around its little hand, fine forks of electricity stabbing through it. Draco grabbed onto his mother's arm and pushed at her as the light raced towards them. It hit him right in the chest and...well, at least there was very little pain. The light simply sank into his flesh and he got a very slight case of gooseflesh and a pinching sensation at his ankles, but that was all.

"Is that really all you've got?" he tried to say but it all came out in low hisses. He glanced down at himself; he was naked, and he was a snake. A snake, standing on its tail. Floating, really. He felt the muscles straining at the back of his head, and out of the corner of his eye he could see a quick blur of a long, leathery wing. 

"Draco!" Narcissa picked up herself off the ground and hurtled towards him. She put out her arms and wrapped around him, pulling him close. She felt very warm against his cool scales. "Draco, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he tried to tell her, but it was just the hissing that came out; so very annoying. The wood-fairies were beside themselves, falling out of the trees like a wave of old leaves as they screamed with laughter.

"Hail, noble lord of the sky!" one of them cried breathlessly, one gnarled little hand pressed into its side. 

The others took up the jeering with annoying ease. "Look at those wings, then! Like a bloody bat!"

"A bat's better looking, isn't it?"

" _Anything's_ better looking than that old rag over there!" The laughter wove up through the soft wind.

"Oi, snakey-snakey! Hey snake! You look heaps better this way, instead of a stupid floppy human!" Lulu bellowed and swung gaily from a branch. 

Narcissa released Draco and whirled towards the lot of them, holding out her wand. 

"Return him to his normal form," she said, low and calm. "Right now."

Lulu stuck out a surprisingly pink tongue, eyes wide with mockery. "We hear the newsies too. You can't do any hard magic, or the Aurie-Rories are going to throw you in a big, stinky pit!"

"Oh?" Narcissa adjusted her grip and narrowed her eyes. "I can certainly do _quite_ a bit of harm to a little beast such as yourself. Now, _turn him back._ "

"Bah!" Lulu threw a piece of a branch at her; it fell woefully out of range. "You're a poopy-head! Both of you!"

Draco hissed out a long sigh. The sky changed colour, going to a soft grey as the sun finally set. The floating sensation stopped and Draco collapsed onto two feet. His normal feet; normal human feet.

... _naked_ normal human feet.

"Mother," Draco groaned as he sank to the ground, his head spinning. He felt her hands underneath his arms, and then the whisper of a charmed cloak as it settled over his shoulders. The wood-fairies grumbled.

Obviously annoyed, Lulu sucked in air through pointy teeth. "Tch! It was to be more stay-stay but whatever. You're still poopy-heads!"

"Fairies," Draco grumbled. "Fucking _fairies._ "

+

There is also this time:

Truffles is streaking away from Harry, triumphantly confident as it flickers around corners. It will win this game, whatever this game is. Harry will have to give kisses, because Truffles is the winner. With a flourish of its wings, it flies up a curving flight of wide, sloping steps. Tall, arched windows rush past in a blur, the cold blue of the sky deepening to dusk.

"Hey!" Harry laughs from far behind, breathlessly. "Truffles! Silly old snake!"

Truffles hisses merrily. It whirls around another corner and then halts so abruptly that its long body collides into itself, coiling up uncomfortably. When it shakes itself out, Truffles stares out of one of the closest windows and sees that the sun has almost set.

Shaking off the sudden petrification, Truffles flies as fast as it can to the next landing and heads straight into a deep alcove located on the left. It knows the very moment that the sun sets, because it feels the change rippling over its skin, smoothing down the triangular-shaped scales--

 

 

\--and Draco stood in the shadows, naked, struggling to calm his breathing. Not that his transformation had been painful, it never was, but he could hear Harry Potter thundering up the stone steps. Draco inhaled deeply and whispered only wandless spell he knew. Heavy swaths of material appeared in the air over his head and then draped over his shoulders. Draco pulled the lapels of the robe around himself, flinching as Potter raced past his dim hiding place.

Draco waited for a few moments, and then slowly stepped out of the alcove. He had every intention to go down these steps as fast as he could manage, and head for the rooms set aside for the Slytherin and Ravenclaw Upper Sevenths while attracting as little attention as possible; but he stumbled as a quiet voice spoke up behind him.

"Malfoy?"

Draco clutched the wall with one hand, his heart thumping almost painfully in his chest. He turned around very slowly. Almost out of sight around the turn, Potter sat a few steps above the landing. Without Truffles' impressive vision, Potter appeared exceedingly ordinary. Draco watched as Potter tilted his head and his mouth felt very dry.

"You've no shoes on," Potter pointed out, very mildly.

"How _observant_ of you," Draco said, and kept his own tone as even as possible. "Not that it's any business of yours, so I'll leave you to--"

"Have you seen a snake around here?" Potter cut in, his thick eyebrows raised slightly. "A winged one. Very pretty."

Draco swallowed so quickly that there was almost an audible click in his throat. "No, Potter," he managed to choke out. "I haven't seen your bloody snake."

Potter sighed and stood up. "Pity," he said and walked past Draco, so close that his sleeve brushed against Draco's. "It won our race, so I owe the bloody snake a kiss."

Draco stared at the back of that messy head as Potter made his way down the steps, trailing his fingers against the grey stone and mortar. He glanced back at Draco over his shoulder, his lips twitching. 

"See you around, then," was all he said, before he continued down the curve of the stairs. 

"See you around," Draco murmured, even though he knew Potter was long gone.

+

**3**

After two whole Potions sessions without Truffles' detailed guidance Harry decided that enough was enough. It was a bit amusing, though, to watch Neville stare at Snape as the man tried to impart his lectures. Once, a flush stole up Snape's sharp cheeks like a fire through a forest. Harry had glanced over at Neville, who had an intent and exultant expression on his face. Snape had ended the class _ten minutes early_ , and hurried off with Neville dogging his heels. However, Snape hadn't appeared overly sour. He seemed a bit distressed, but there was a shine to his dark eyes that made him seem almost...attractive. How odd.

That aside, Harry managed to locate Alex coming out of Charms, snagging her by the sleeve as she strolled past with her head in a book.

"I need to find Truffles," he told her as she turned a questioning glare towards him. He fully expected her to refuse, but Alex pursed her lips and nodded. 

"All right. Just don't say that I told you," Alex said and Harry squinted at her; he hadn't expected it to be that easy. "Truffles'll get all huffy on me, and that's annoying."

"I know!" Harry burst out. "And then it's snakey-tongue in your ear when it's making nice with you again…" he trailed off at the stunned expression that had snuck over Alex's round face. "No? Truffles doesn't do that to you?"

" _No_ ," Alex said, and even though her expression was bland, her voice had the smallest hint of a smile. "Truffles is a snake. They're not usually known for expressions of affection."

"Well, then," was all Harry had to say about _that._ Alex sat down in the sill of the nearest window and produced a small but detailed map which outlined Truffles' many haunts during the day. Harry took it up in hand, murmuring his thanks, and tromped all over the castle during his free time. He got scratched by branches, and small insects bit him without mercy, the buggers, but he didn't give up.

As he headed past the vegetable garden at dusk, heading for Hagrid's, he stopped, frowning at the soft voice which he heard in the back of his head, as if someone had turned up the volume very slowly on the wireless.

He turned to the left and took a step towards the greenhouses. The volume dipped, and Harry stepped back, experimentally. After weaving back and forth like a drunken warlock, a quieting charm on the soles of his feet, Harry finally locked onto the voice's location. He crept up on the quiet Willow, keeping his mind calm and clear.

The voice, _Truffles'_ voice, sang with a rough sweetness. It sounded like a wizarding nursery rhyme, more spell than a funny little ditty:

_Aldebaran, velocitari,_  
 _Aquarius, si sitieris,_  
 _Capricornus, somni, somni,_  
 _Draconis, fueris superbus!_

It was darling to listen to, really, and Harry couldn't help a smile. Truffles' mental voice sang along like a small, carefree child. Then Truffles hummed for a bit, and sang another line, including Perseus and Pisces. Thoroughly charmed, Harry thought as clearly as he could: _Truffles, please don't run away_.

The song cut off and silence spread out in ever-widening circles. Harry waited and thought terribly hard, toward the last place he’d heard that voice: _Please. Don't run._

Above him, the Willow shifted its branches threateningly, and arched its roots, but it seemed reluctant to do anything overt. Harry felt a tightening in his chest, and after a few more minutes ticked past, Harry sighed. The sun set completely, and the night fell in a vaguely apologetic fashion. 

_Aldebaran, velocitari,_ he mused, sitting down between the thick roots and resting his back against the rough surface of the Willow's trunk. The tree shook down a few leaves on him, facetiously. _Aquarius….um..._

 _...si sitieris,_ Truffles put in solemnly, its mental voice one that Harry had heard ever since he was eleven years old. _Capricornus, somni, somni_.

 _"_ Draconis," Harry said aloud, and looked up as Malfoy stepped around the Willow, dressed in that loose robe that Harry had saw him in that time he'd been chasing Truffles up the NorthTower. 

Draco Malfoy stared down at him, his eyes dark.

 _Hello Truffles_ , Harry thought and watched as Malfoy took a single step back, sharp and lithe as any movement Truffles would have made. 

_You knew._ Malfoy didn't seem overly accusing. He sounded a little weary in Harry's head.

 _Come on, how could I miss something like that?_ Harry placed a hand on the grass beside his thigh and pushed up to his feet. _A snake that's brilliant at Potions? You in the night, Truffles in the day?_ _Everybody knew._

 _Everyone?_ Malfoy's shoulders were set in a rigid line. 

Harry wanted to step forward, but there was so much history between them, such bitter knowledge holding them apart like a wall. Harry felt it in the muttering stream of Malfoy's thoughts, and the careful way he tried to hold some of it away from Harry, as if Harry would poison it, somehow. With Truffles, any wall would seem far less sturdy. 

_Well, Ron knew_ , Harry admitted. _And Nev. Hermione, too. Yeah, so everyone_. 

_And they allowed_ me _in your room?!_ Malfoy ran a hand through his hair and some it stuck up in the air. _They're mad, obviously. Gryffindors_ are _ridiculous._

"Truffles would never hurt me," Harry said out loud. He took one step towards Malfoy, then another. Malfoy watched him approach with a slight frown. 

"I've hurt you before. Badly," he pointed out, biting through every word. Harry stopped in mid-step.

"I've hurt you, too," Harry replied. Malfoy closed his eyes for a few quiet whispers of the wind through the Willow's leaves. _We've given each other lifetimes of hurt, haven't we?_ Harry thought at him, and Malfoy's eyelids flew open again.

"Tell me something," Harry said, taking another slow step. "Please?" 

_What?_ Malfoy took his own step forward as well. His eyes weren't in shadow anymore, and they gleamed with a wary sort of hope. _Wait, don't ask me why I'm called Truffles. Just don't._

Harry smiled at him. "Do snakes have a different concept of time?"

+

**4**

The secret garden where Harry sat with Truffles sometimes wasn't that much of a _secret_ , really. It was located near to the greenhouses, and accessed by whispering a very good secret to the rose-bush in the corner, where two walls met at a sharp angle. George had found it during the repair of the school, and had told Ron about it. When the rose-bush approved of a secret and the heavy wooden door revealed itself near that sharp juncture, one walked through the very short tunnel to access the garden. There were no windows above the garden and the design of the outer walls cleverly concealed the fact that a space existed behind them. The garden was very small, and very cosy. Neville had gone through great lengths to uproot the dead plants and plant new ones, setting charms on the brash hibiscus and orchids so they'd survive in the cool air. Ginny and Ron had rebuilt new benches, mimicking the style of the worn wooden seats which had been there before.

Harry had no idea how Truffles got into the hidden garden. There was probably some other concealed hole which a winged snake could use; the first time Harry had shown the garden to Truffles, the snake had glanced around almost carelessly, and gone to sun itself on a pile of rocks, unimpressed. Harry had dozed off as well, and when he woke up again, Truffles hadn't been around. From then on, Truffles would be in the garden before Harry arrived, and always managed to leave before Harry noticed it was gone. 

Today, Harry couldn't quite enjoy the soft beauty of the garden. He had a Potions test in the evening, at a late hour to facilitate certain students (namely, Draco Malfoy). He sat with his legs folded in one of the benches, a light blanket over his shoulders, tucked under the shade of a low but wide-crowned apple tree. The tree had a twisted, grey-hued trunk and bore small, bitter apples. Whenever Truffles was bored to distraction it liked to amuse itself by grasping an apple in its teeth, and lobbing it in the general direction of Harry's head. Now, as he pored over his textbook, Harry listened for the furtive rustle which indicated the arrival of the snake.

He reviewed three potions and their primary applications, bit four of his fingernails almost to the quick and scribbled notes in the margins of his pages. All this while reminding himself that he had faced Voldemort in an actual war; an exam should really be quite manageable. 

Harry flipped back a few chapters, breathing out heavily through his nostrils as he narrowed his eyes at the pages. He glanced up, trying to lock a particular combination of ingredients into his brain and blinked. Truffles lay just a few feet away: long body arranged in a luminous pile of coils, head tilted up. The shining black eyes stared at him fixedly, not blinking. Harry hadn't heard a sound.

"Oh, hey there." Harry set aside his book, leaving his lap free. Usually, Truffles would curl up in his lap; as a matter of fact, Harry didn't have to move his book to indicate an open space for snake-resting. Truffles would simply push its way onto Harry's legs, arrange most of its heavy body at the small of Harry's back and fall asleep. Now, Truffles didn't head toward him. It shifted a little to the left, as if it had an intention to move, but suddenly subsided.

"Everything all right there, mate?" Harry asked, gently and Truffles looked away. "Truffles?"

_Everything is…all right_ , Truffles answered, but while it turned its head back towards Harry, its gaze seemed to slide too far to the other side. 

"Don't you want to sit over here?" Harry indicated to his lap with a flourish of one hand but still Truffles did not move. "Come on, come over here."

_I bite you_ , Truffles answered conversationally. _I sit there and I say nothing, just bite you_.

"But you haven't," Harry told him, after he did a bit of translation in his head: what Truffles probably meant was _'I_ might _bite you. I could sit there and say nothing, and just bite you.'_ "I doubt you'll ever bite me, unless I do something to hurt you. Do you understand?" Harry asked, and switched to a cajoling tone in Parseltongue: _I hurt you, you bite me_.

Truffles jerked back, recoiling from Harry's suggestion. _No!_

"Then stop worrying about it, and come sit over here," Harry said, keeping his tone light yet firm. "I owe you a kiss, don't I? You won the race!"

Truffles _slunk_ over to Harry, for lack of a better word and slid up into his lap with an air of great gloom. It lifted its head, setting its cheek close to Harry's face.

_Kiss_ , it said, but it didn't sound as imperious as it normally would. The cascading cadence of its voice trembled. Harry did not hesitate: he leaned forward and pressed his lips to the dry skin underneath its closest eye. Truffles smelled like dried leaves and fresh grass. It kept itself very still for a long moment after Harry drew back, before it settled down across his legs with an imperious hiss.

"There's more of that where that came from," Harry said, airily. He grinned when Truffles jerked up so suddenly, it nearly rolled off his lap.

_fin_

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Внезапный сневилл](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7681195) by [berenica](https://archiveofourown.org/users/berenica/pseuds/berenica)




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